DuPage Notebook. Schools.

This Could Be The Super Bowl For Readers

January 31, 1999|By Joan Cary. Special to the Tribune.

St. Joan of Arc students in Lisle read for fun, but they also read to win. On Feb. 9, 20 of St. Joan's 4th and 5th graders will compete with others from six area Catholic schools in the ninth annual Battle of the Books.

How well can they remember 12 different novels? They'll soon find out.

Interested students were given a list of 12 books to read on their own last fall. They discussed them and were quizzed on them by parent volunteers. Now they'll be tested in a battle similar to TV's "College Bowl."

Battle of the Books for 4th-8th graders was started by St. Joan's librarian Rosemarie Collins, who has since retired, said librarian Robin Pyrcik. "The program is to encourage and enjoy reading," Pyrcik said. "It also gives those students who don't enjoy sports a chance to be recognized."

Usually the list is 20 books long and given at the start of summer vacation, but a later start this year cut the number of books to 12.

On Feb. 9, the 4th and 5th graders compete at St. Mary of Gostyn School in Downers Grove. On March 8, the older children will compete at SS. Peter and Paul School in Naperville. There are 25 questions about each book, and teams have 15 seconds to come up with an answer.

"We have children who look forward to getting that list of books to read every year," said St. Joan's multimedia coordinator, Kathleen Ansier. "These are children who love to read."